Rescuers extricate driver from wreck

Members of Helper's Rescue 3 work feverishly to extricate the driver of a semi-truck Wednesday morning after he rolled his vehicle on State Road 96 while hauling water to a natural gas operation south of the town of Scofield.

According David Smith, who is working with the Ridge Runner Gas operation, the driver was hauling a load of water to the gas wells above the Skyline Mine when he rolled on what is referred to by local drivers as "Dead Man's Curve."

"Everyone who drives SR 96 knows about that curve," said Smith. "It sneaks up on you and it's far too sharp."

The driver, whose name was not released by the Utah Highway Patrol, crashed near mile marker 16 while driving south. The load contained 80 barrels of water. To put that much H2O and weight in perspective, each barrel equals 42 gallons of water and each gallon of water weights 8.34 lbs. The driver was therefore hauling just over 28,000 lbs of water.

After being extricated from the truck's cab, he was placed in an ambulance and taken to a small clearing on SR 96, where he was picked up by Eagle Air Med and transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for treatment.

The driver had serious injuries, according to the UHP. Check out the Sun Advocate online at www.sunad.com as details are made available.